Before the Covid-19 pandemic, there was a misconception that agility was limited to IT departments and software development. The mobilization towards remote and hybrid work, however, has highlighted its utility across all industries. 

A recent study found that for businesses that made enterprise-level agile transformations, financial performance saw an overall improvement of 20-30%. Furthermore, adjacent studies explored how these changes can result in company-wide processes becoming 5-10% faster. 

It is important to note that the more rapid completion of work did not come at the cost of high-quality results. Agility allowed for companies to not only increase speed but to see 30% gains in customer satisfaction and operational performance.    

For companies that want to remain competitive in an ever-evolving global market, developing an agility roadmap is a must. But with so much buzz around becoming agile, it can be difficult to figure out where to start. 

It’s time to cut through the noise and hone in on the five easy changes that will deliver meaningful results. 

Comprehensive Strategy

The effective implementation of company-wide agility begins with a comprehensive roadmap. 

A well-developed strategy is one that takes into account changes across all levels of business, over the course of a predetermined time frame. 

The first phase of your agile transformation will address profound overhauls within the company. A Mckinsey study found that to achieve success and maintain momentum during this pivotal window, phase one changes must occur within eighteen months or fewer. 

Start by creating a roadmap for the first eighteen months with the inclusion of later phases of your strategy. Long-term rollouts should take into account actions to maintain agility by encouraging continuous growth, change and flexibility. 

Structural-Level Transformation

To be successful, an agile transformation must begin at the structural level. Measurable outcomes begin at the foundation, expand outwards, and approach an organization as an interconnected whole. 

That said, lasting change cannot arise from strategies that are created incongruently amongst individual departments. 

Develop a plan of action that originates from one, clear vision. This agility mission statement must be specific enough to ring true to your company but broad enough to be applicable across all departments. 

Employee Engagement

A true agile transformation involves buy-in from all employees, across all departments. The implementation of new systems and the drive to learn how to work with them necessitates commitment to a shared vision.

To become truly agile, even those least comfortable with embracing change must be brought on board.  

The most effective way to do this is to give employees at all levels ownership over their work. An elevated sense of autonomy leads to deeper commitment to results. 

When employees across all departments feel personal stake in their roles, everyone works towards the common goal of facilitating transformation. 

Effective Teams

While the message has been echoed for years now, the pandemic and remote work have made it ring louder than ever before: smaller, collaborative teams are more productive than larger bureaucratic organizations slowed down by red tape.  

The lengthy bureaucratic processes that often accompany the structure of traditional companies hold back innovation. It has been demonstrated time and again how ineffective monthly, company-wide meetings are for implementing future-facing changes.

A paradigm shift towards highly-collaborative small teams creates room for innovation, efficiency, and flexibility; this makes up the foundation of an agile company. 

Using the principles of a common goal and enterprise-level change, allow for the actual work to be carried out amongst small groups in close collaboration. 

Technological Innovation

A major factor in the shift towards agility lies in adopting relevant technology. At every level of business, there are technologies aimed at improving agility through automation. 

Whether these are organizational tools for scheduling or automating payroll, they serve to cut out wasted time and labor involved in slow and repetitive tasks. With employees' time freed up, their energy can be better spent completing high-level work.

This ultimately allows for a company to turn out work faster and more efficiently. It also frees up space for innovation across all departments. 

Making your Company more Agile with Rise

One of the easiest steps to take towards a more agile future is automating payroll. Save hours and money while embracing future-facing technology with Rise Pay. 

Rise is a payment platform that streamlines your payroll while you focus on scaling your company. Manage your companies payouts in fiat or crypto currency and experience the future of global payroll: agile, automatic and secure. 

Ready to learn more about how Rise can help you manage payment for your global teams? Schedule a demo and get started today. 

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